Like Me
by GryffindorCriss
Summary: Newt's reaction to Tina's news is not quite what she was hoping it would be.


**This is trash and un-beta'd so all mistakes are sadly mine. I'm still out of practice with writing but oh well, I hope you guys enjoy it anyway!**

 **Strong angst ahead (but with an almost-cheesey happy ending!)**

* * *

The first sign that something was amiss was the nausea that appeared throughout each day; it could come at any time, be it in the morning when she woke up or when she was at work in the afternoon, and last anywhere from seconds to hours. Bizarrely, it was coupled with the odd craving too, the oddest being a sudden appetite for olive and jam together.

Then there was the behaviour of the beasts; it hadn't escaped Tina's notice that Dougal was staying close to her whenever she visited, almost as if guarding her protectively, and several of the Bowtruckles would chatter noisily when they saw her, as if discussing something important. Even the Erumpent seemed to be behaving differently around her, always regarding her with a somewhat gentle look – like she knew something important.

She had her suspicions, but she waited for more signs so that she could be sure; after waiting a week for her overdue monthly cycle and having nothing, she finally decided to contact a local Healer for confirmation. There were potions and spells she could have used, granted, but she knew that there were risks associated with them – and if it _was_ true, it just wasn't worth it.

In the end, she decided it best not to mention it to Newt – she didn't want him to get his hopes up (or even panic), just in case.

* * *

Newt was busy at work when she returned from her appointment, feeding their Graphorns and carefully watching the younger ones; just a year previously, one of the infant Graphorns had grown sick and died from a mysterious disease. It had broken Newt's heart, Tina remembered mournfully, and she had been just as upset too – over the years, all of these creatures really had grown on her, and she cared about them almost as much as her husband.

She waited until he had finished his task before making her way over to him, absentmindedly smoothing down her slacks as she thought about what to say; she couldn't imagine him being _angry_ , as such, but there was still no telling as to how he'd react. They hadn't discussed children in their relationship, it hadn't come up and they'd both been so busy – but perhaps he would be at least somewhat pleased. After all, he mothered all types of magical creature imaginable, even the ones that she still felt wary of, so surely he'd feel the same about their child?

He smiled widely when he noticed her, putting down the now-empty feed bucket and coming to meet her halfway. "Evening, love. Busy day?"

"You could say that," Tina said light-heartedly, but she couldn't stop herself from giving a small smile too. "It's been real…interesting."

"Well, I'm glad you're home," Newt chuckled, and his arms slid around her waist. "Dougal's been moping about all day, just staring at the shed door – I think you may have an admirer."

She laughed despite her nerves, shaking her head. "I think he's been babysitting me," She agreed. "At least someone missed me…"

"Oh, and I missed you too, of course," He admitted, pulling her closer to himself as his voice lowered in a way that made her shiver. "In fact, I think you could say that I've missed you more than anyone else in this case has."

"I missed you too," She murmured softly, resting her hands on his arms. "Um, Newt…I need to tell you something."

"Oh?" Newt looked vaguely surprised. "Alright, love. What is it?"

Tina bit her lower lip, stomach suddenly flipping as she tried to find the right words; nothing decent came to her. "Could we maybe go for a walk? Nowhere in particular, just around the case…it might help."

He seemed bewildered by her request but nodded even so; he didn't push for an explanation as he took her hand and they started to walk. The dim lighting of the artificial sun in the case made her feel somewhat better as they made their way around the different enclosures, and she waited for her heart to slow to a more normal pace before continuing to speak.

"I don't want you to worry," She began anxiously. "But I went to a Healer today."

"A Healer? Whatever for?" He asked, mildly alarmed. "Is everything alright? Are you sick at all?"

"No, not really," Tina assured him half-heartedly. "I've just been feeling…different lately, and I guess I kinda knew what it could be – I just wanted to be completely sure. Nothing's wrong, I promise."

Newt looked rather confused. "I see. What did the Healer say then?"

She suddenly stopped walking and turned to him; she was gnawing on her lip again, a nervous habit of hers, and trying to meet his eye. "She confirmed what I thought. Newt… I'm pregnant."

For a moment, neither of them spoke or moved – it was as if time had frozen between them. It was only when Tina swallowed the lump in her throat, anxiously beginning to speak again, that he averted his eyes to the ground.

"We didn't talk about…about babies or anything," She sighed. "And we haven't been married that long, so this is all still kinda new to the both of us. I don't know if you _wanted_ us to have children; I never really considered it being a possibility, to be honest, but that was before we even met – I mean, I didn't think I'd be married, but we are so I guess everything's different now." She paused, looking at him pleadingly. " _Please_ say something, Newt."

Her husband was still avoiding her eyes, his entire posture tense and rigid. "I don't know what I'm supposed to say," He muttered.

"I know it's a lot to take in," She said quietly, taking his hands in hers and giving a small squeeze. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around it, to be honest."

Newt suddenly pulled his hands away from her, frowning deeply as he finally looked up. "No, we can't… I don't want…" He swallowed. "I don't want this, Tina. We can't have a baby, we can't."

Her heart sunk at his words. "I know this is a shock, but there's nothing we can do about it now… I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" He repeated, perplexed. "Why are you _sorry_?"

"That you're disappointed," Tina said, and he saw that her eyes were glistening slightly with unshed tears. "And I thought… I thought maybe… It's stupid, I was being silly."

Realisation dawned on him, and a wave of regret washed over him. "Oh, Tina… I didn't realize that you wanted…"

"I didn't either," She told him miserably. "Not until today when I found out. Like I said, it's stupid, but when the Healer told me I…I felt worried, but I was _happy_ too. Happy because we were going to be a family."

Newt looked at her carefully, clearly conflicted; after thinking to himself for few moments, he straightened up and looked away once more. "If I had known, Tina, I wouldn't have asked you to marry me."

"Newt…"

"You deserve to be with someone who wants the same things," He continued softly, already turning away. "It was selfish of me to not even bother asking if you wanted a family, and now you're going to be dreadfully unhappy because of it."

"That's not what-"

But he had disappeared down the path before she could say another word.

* * *

She found him in the shed half an hour later, tending to a potted plant on his workbench; he didn't look away from his work when she came in, keeping his eyes fixed firmly on the plant. The only thing that indicated he was aware she'd entered was the fact his hands stilled, body tensing just a tad more.

"Newt." Tina's voice felt weak in her throat. "Don't shut me out. Please, talk to me about it – maybe we can work it out together." When he didn't answer, she took a step forward and tentatively reached out to touch his shoulder. "You know you can tell me anything that's on your mind – I'm here."

Her husband remained quiet for a few moments more before sighing, lowering his hands away from the plant and dropping his gaze to the workbench. "It's not that I don't want us to have a family, Tina, it's just that I can't help but feel…" He took a deep breath, closing his eyes. "It would be unfair on a child really, growing up with _me_ as their father."

She frowned, an unpleasant sense of understanding rushing over her. "Newt-"

"I don't want them to be like me," Newt whispered fearfully, and he sounded close to tears. "I remember how I was teased at school, how everyone would talk about it." He swallowed the lump in his throat. "When we got married, I thought about what they had all said – how I shouldn't _breed_ , that it would be better for everyone involved if I never passed on any of my genes. I thought about it, Tina, and I realized that I didn't want to put you through that – the shame of…of having a child with someone like _me_ , someone so abnormal. I'm…I'm sorry."

"No, don't you dare believe that," She admonished. "It's nothing but a load of garbage."

"But it isn't," He disagreed miserably, and despite his best efforts, he felt himself begin to cry. "I wouldn't want to force a child to have to endure the teasing I did, Tina, to be isolated for being odd and strange. I wouldn't be able to bear it, knowing it's _my_ fault that a child… _our_ child would be put through that."

Without warning, his wife was cupping his face and turning him to look at her; he saw the tears gathering in her own eyes and immediately felt a pang of guilt at having upset her so. _Of course_ he had, he never could do anything right-

"You listen to me," Tina said, voice quiet but firm. "I think – no, I _know_ – that you will be the most amazing father; I see you with all our creatures, how you love each and every one of them, and I know that you'll be the same with our baby. Our child will be so lucky because we'll both love them more than anything in this world – because they'll have a father they know adores them unconditionally."

Newt could only stare at her in surprise. "Tina…"

"You think I'm not worried about it?" She continued seriously. "All the way home from the Healer's, all I could think about was if I'd be the world's _worst_ mother; I don't know the first thing about babies or any of that stuff, and I'm not like Queenie in that sense either. But even if I am terrible, I know I'll love them – that we'll both love them so much."

He exhaled the breath he didn't know he'd been holding inside of himself, all of the tension leaving him completely. "I…I suppose that's true."

Slowly, she reached for his hand and linked their fingers together. "I know this is terrifying," She admitted softly. "I'm terrified too. There are wars going on, people dying every day: it's not the ideal time for a baby at all. But at the same time, I feel so…so _happy_ when I picture it. I know it's silly, but I feel like there's hope for the future, that things aren't so dark after all."

For a few moments, Newt allowed himself to indulge in the image of it; instead of imagining an unhappy and distressed child being bullied the way he had, he could see Tina with a healthy baby in her arms as she smiled and laughed. It was suddenly all too easy to imagine a child – _their_ child – giggling and reaching out for their parents, for himself and his wife.

"Tina, love…" He couldn't help but grin, somewhat tearfully, as he focused on her once more. "You're right…you're always right, of course, but now especially." She laughed quietly, beaming as his fingers brushed and lingered over where the fabric of her blouse hid her stomach; the thought of her growing larger here made something flutter within him, something threatening to choke him with emotion once more. "So…we're going to be parents."

"Yeah," Tina agreed joyously, leaning in to kiss him. "We're going to be parents."

* * *

 **Fun fact: In the original draft, Newt was going to imply that she should get an abortion. I decided not to go with that draft because I thought it was a tad OOC, to be honest, and didn't really fit with the tone I wanted or how I wanted to represent his character.**

 **Reviews and comments are greatly appreciated! :)**


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